When you take a look at this very modern looking responsive internet application you cannot tell that it has been modernized from a CHUI application. And we are very proud of it.

On the left part you see collapsing/expanding frames which makes the layout very nice and clean. In the middle you have a fixed field frame and on the right side you see a summary. Under CHUI there are at least 7 screens needed for this. That is a big improvement. And this is just an example.

Javra Software is using different approaches to modernize Legacy systems which cannot be replaced and don’t have to be replaced as in most cases there is invested a huge amount of time and money in it. What you need is a modern frontend or a connection to the outside world.

Why this approach for this customer?

As Javra Software we listen to the customer and based on that meeting we decide what is the best approach for that customer and how to modernize. It can be with Progress Kinvey, very new, with the Progress Kendo UI, with API’s which give you the freedom to modernize with React.js (created by facebook), Swift (used for Apple ipad / iphone), Magento webshop (by Adobe), Java, Node.js or in fact anything that talks with API’s. Or our own Javra IDE, which is a tool build by Javra, and create screens in no time with the big advantage that you can use a big part of your Progress / OpenEdge written business logic. Or, if you want, a combination of all above. In this case we have chosen with the customer to use the Javra IDE so he could use his old system still and switch module by module to a hyper modern HTML layout.

Business logic still mainly in progress ABL.

How did we do this modernization? To explain it clearly I should go into some details of this solution. We have a seperate (progress) database where we have all the fields of the original customer database (dictionary). But we have added some extra fields to define on which screen which field has to appear and how to deal with it. When we start the application the Menu and Security is coming from the separate database. In fact we start with an empty screen and send a request to the appserver to get all the fields, field securities, characteristics and more from the database. When we receive this at the frontend we render it and the screen you see in this article is the result. To stay as close to Progress as possible we have taken over all the events which are available in Progress ABL and added some more. If you leave for example a field you can decide to send a leave event to the appserver and run some progress ABL logic there and send the result back to the frontend. This is ideal for hardcore Progress programmers or to reuse your progress ABL logic you already have build. But of course you can choose to have your frontend business logic in javascript or server based javascript (with Node.js). Your choice.

Use the old and the new application together

As we don’t change the database or the source code you are able to run the old and new application next to each other while you are in the transition period. Of course the final goal is to stop with the old application screens. But you miss the big bang scenario and that makes this much easier and safe then switching your complete application at once. So you can choose to use your CHUI application on some modules and run this modern UI for other modules.

You don’t have to know anything else than your Progress / OpenEdge ABL.

As you have the choice to have your frontend business logic in Progress / Javascript or Server based Javascript (Node.js) you can do everything in just progress / OpenEdge ABL. But to be honest, if you use javascript or Node.js you might get tasks quicker done but you don’t have to.

Javra Software Nepal offshore center

Also not unimportant to mention is that we have an outsourcing daughter company (100% Javra Netherlands owned) with around 120 FTE. Not only Progress (portfolio) experts but also Node.js / frontend / backend / Azure / .NET /  magento / pimcore / IT infrastructure and not to forget our own R&D center. So we can offer you very reasonable prices we have a lot of expertises in house which makes us a very interesting partner for most companies.

You want to know more ?

If you want to know more about this case or about our modernization approach of your Progress OpenEdge application don’t hesitate to contact us. A webex or skype call is easily planned.